The Scars You Bring
by conspirazee
Summary: One-shot. It takes Annie every ounce of energy in her body to try and hold her emotions together, but it is never easy hiding anything from Liam.


_I'm on a Lannie spree this week! :3 This was originally written as a chapter for another story, but I decided to make it a one-shot. Do let me know what you think about it! :)_

There was a huge lump in Annie's throat as she knocked on Liam's door. It was not quite the excitement about their date tonight, although it seemed like a promising night. Liam had promised Annie that he was going to cook dinner that night; he even requested that Annie dress up for the night. But no, Annie was feeling nervous and a little scared, even slightly melancholic because it was probably their last date together in a long time.

The door swung open, and Annie's heart skipped a beat. It was amazing how this boy in front of her still sets her heart fluttering even when they've been together for more than a year now. Liam beamed at the sight of his girlfriend in a nice white dress at his front door. She was simply gorgeous. Annie could wear anything at all and Liam would still find himself more than just attracted to the Wilson daughter. Liam welcomed her into his house, before planting his lips onto hers.

"You're not dressed up fancy. That's unfair," Annie pointed out as she pulled away from the kiss.

"I'm wearing a shirt, that's not good enough?" Liam defended himself as he looked at his choice of clothing. He chuckled. "I thought a whole suit would be too much."

Annie managed to only smile at his response. Somehow she could not be as witty as she normally was. It was difficult to keep her emotions together than night. Liam did not miss this change in her behavior. If anything, he was even more aware of how differently she was acting.

"Come on, you must be hungry," Liam said, as he brought her to the dining area. He didn't want their moods to become somber so quickly. "I promised I'd cook for you tonight. I hope everything's edible."

Annie would give him an A+ for all the effort Liam had put in. He had set a great ambience in the dining room, with all the dim lights, the candles and the food already laid out on the table.

More than half an hour had passed but Annie had barely more than 4 mouthfuls of the pasta Liam had cooked. She distracted herself with their light-hearted conversations instead of eating. In fact, Annie had been careful to avoid talking about anything that is potentially deep - she just needed to talk about anything else to keep her mood going.

"You've barely touched your food, Annie," Liam finally said quietly. "Don't think I haven't noticed. Is my cooking that bad?"

"I just can't eat, Liam."

Liam put his fork down and took a gulp of his drink. He knew exactly what she meant. It wasn't that his cooking was terrible, it was because there was a huge knot in Annie's stomach and there was nothing she could swallow that would untie that knot. It took Liam a while to gather his words together, but he finally took Annie's hands in his and said, "I won't be away forever, you know that, Annie. 2 months, 3 months and I'll be back here to see you."

"Yeah, and after that you'll be gone again. The next time maybe 4 or 5 months," Annie argued. Her defense was failing; the tears streaming down her cheeks betrayed her. Annie started sobbing a little harder.

Liam quietly brought Annie to the living room, where they sat down on the couch. Liam draped his arms over Annie's small frame. She buried her face in his chest, her body shaking as the girl let her emotions pour. For a long while, they held each other quietly, neither wanting to let go of this moment. Liam's heart shattered into pieces as he watched his girlfriend break down right in front of him. He had never seen Annie cry that hard before. A part of him felt so remorseful for having to leave Annie. She had held her thoughts and emotions together ever since he told her he had chosen to deep sea fishing on a boat instead of going to college. And finally, the night before he was due to leave on the fishing boat, her walls started to fall apart and the girl could no longer contain her feelings.

Liam stroked Annie's arm gently until her sobs slowed down. "I wanted tonight to be a good memory," he told her quietly. "Nice dinner at home, so you'll remember it at least till I come back."

"I'm sorry I ruined it," Annie sincerely apologized. Her heart felt like it weighed a ton, but Liam had a point. It was unfair that she was making his night a terrible one. All he really wanted was to have an amazing night.

"I'll be waiting for you when you come back," she whispered. "I promise you that."

Liam wiped the tears off Annie's face, and slowly leaned in to give her a deep kiss. It was not a kiss driven by adrenaline and excitement, but one fueled simply by love. Slow, but passionate. It is possibly difficult for one to understand the depth of these teenagers' love, but Liam and Annie would say that they loved each other the way only their hearts knew how.

Annie leaned closer to Liam, and he understood her move perfectly. Slowly, he slid lower till Annie was on top of him. Neither of them were in a rush; it could take them all night to do this, but they did not care. Liam felt Annie's delicate touch on his neck and a mix of emotions ran through his veins. There was comfort and a hint of euphoria, because he had found the person he loved. But there was guilt too, for he knew that tomorrow, he would have to say goodbye to Annie as he leaves for the sea. Heartache, for this stunning girl right here knew how to be his lover and friend, yet they had to part. Forlorn, because he was unsure if he would be able to remember how her lips taste in the weeks and months to come.

Annie's fingers worked her way down Liam's shirt unhurriedly. All she could think about was that she wanted him all to herself. She just wanted to be with him; there was no use rushing anything. As Annie slid her arms up Liam's bare chest, her mind did not fail to process Liam's soft touch on the back of her neck and her shoulder. So gentle his fingers, but yet so assuring, as though he was telling her he wasn't going anywhere. Hope radiated in her; perhaps she could convince him to stay. But even then she knew it was useless - Liam had his mind made up about the job. Annie felt the torrent of emotions washing down her throat once again. As Liam's hold on her became tighter, Annie could no longer hold her tears back. They came gently, each time falling off her face and onto Liam's. Annie knew Liam felt hurt - no, not because he was offended in any way, but because Liam knew his girlfriend was heartbroken.

Annie reluctantly pulled away. "I'm sorry," she whispered, nearly inaudible. Her dress had barely a crease on it, and she only managed to remove Liam's shirt but there was hardly any guilt in these. Her guilt was in failing to hold her emotions back.

Liam needed no apology. Without another word, he shifted his body to make room for Annie to lie down beside him. Liam held Annie close and steadied his own breathing to calm her down. The onslaught of tears and emotions exhausted her, and Liam soon found his girlfriend had fallen asleep. He did not know it would hurt Annie that much for him to leave. Liam was tormented. A part of him wanted to stay, but a larger part of him knew that if they wanted things to work out between them in the next few years, he would have to find himself first.

As the room became quiet with only the sound of their breathing, Liam's mind drifted off to the time when Annie confided in him about her hit-and-run on his boat that he had built. That was the first time they truly opened up to each other so comfortably. The first time they saw each other much more beyond the facades they put on daily. He then recalled the time Annie had taken such good care of him after he was beaten up badly. And who could forget how relieved Liam felt when he finally revealed his feelings for the girl.

Liam kissed the top of Annie's head. He had to leave tomorrow afternoon. It was a pity that they both had to live by this sad memory for a while, but they both knew they did not mean to hurt each other. In a melancholy tone, Liam said, "Goodnight, beautiful."


End file.
